It’s a belter!
Archive for October, 2008
Many moons ago, we were invited to the cinema to watch The Shawshank Redemption. Andy hadn’t booked, the joint was full so he’d opted for a different flick. The film we were so lucky to see was ‘Legends Of The Fall’, probably the biggest load of over-the-top nonsense created. It seemed nothing more than a promotional exercise for Brad Pitt’s ego. We all laughed aloud at a sequence when he left the bosom of his family to ‘discover’ himself. The film was based in the early 1900s, and Brad became an epic explorer in a two minute clip, travelling, meeting tribesmen from all round the world, topped with him solo-navigating at speed in a boat at sea complete with golden labrador on deck! This film had become a thorn in our friend’s side (given that we missed out on The Shawshank Redemption). We constantly remind him by sending picture postcards of the film etc. This epic mysteriously turned up in the post, so thanks Andy.
The 1984 ‘Spinal Tap’ mockumentary is now safely back on our shelves. How we’ve missed it, with lines such as ” I’m tired of sticking up for his intelligence”. Long before Ricky Gervais et al were making their mirth, this was setting the standard. So here we are then, now stacked with plenty of other DVDs which have been generously lent to us. We’re gradually getting through them. Thank you.
Nicola’s strength has returned and she seems alright, good spirited and cheery. She still gets tired early in the evening though (or is that just of me?). I once again attended ‘Jam Night’, sat on my backside to observe and made no effort to get up and play. It was amusing to see Steve play all those Country Blues tracks – so you old boy. I made my excuses and left. Apart from that we’ve kept ourselves to ourselves this week. Nic has made a just a handful of trips in the valley. Once again, thank you for all the glorious food everyone has provided, it’s all been magnificent. Our only incident was a poorly girl on Wednesday and Thursday so she had to stay at home which put us under a little bit of strain but she’s back to her ‘ever-challenging’ self now.
Our false sense of security was short lived. Nicola wasn’t well on Saturday, she didn’t look good. The side effects of the chemo were quite punishing on the poor girl. Luckily, she was left in peace and quiet at home. Es went with a mass of friends to see the stage musical version of Beauty and the Beast (Note: not Arsenal vs. Porto) Thanks to Anne & Dom for doing the honours. Also thanks to Sam for organising the whole thing. Rube, myself and Hugh had a boys afternoon at Carters Steam Fair (thanks Hugh, a great suggestion). On Sunday, Nic seemed and looked much better. It was Archie’s 2nd birthday bash, so again we managed to leave Nic to rest for most of the afternoon. Thanks to Ross, Kathryn and Archie for having us.
We were also overwhelmed by the support and generosity from Helen and Tony. Thank you for everything it is so so kind. We owe you in spades. Thanks to Charlotte too of course – you are a star!
So who cracked? Who gave in? Who turned on their central heating then? Was it the husband who was reluctant? Nicola snoozed most of the day under a mound of duvet and blanket on our vintage sofa. After last night this is a good sign as the sickness aspect may well be over this time around. Having said that, she has to endure fatigue and her skin not feeling like her own. She must have been bad as she watched no engineering progs on the National Geographic channel all day. Katy G was a godsend (as ever), especially listening to me drone on (no change there then) and for coping with RSE, too much of which gives you RSI. Good luck with your lie ins everyone.
Here’s a selection of cheery covers and titles from the Cancer Unit bookshelf. Unsurprisingly, Nicola isn’t too well today. We had a restless night as she was quite ill. We’d like the opportunity to thank ‘The Gannet’ for supplying yesterday’s feast. I like the pseudonym, I believe it’s a great challenge to many a celebrity chef’s empire.
As Paula Abdul (5′ 2″) once sang ‘Two steps forward and one step back’ and it felt a little like that yesterday. It was hardly a gravy train of consequence. The lateness (beyond our control) of Tuesday’s appointment had a knock on effect which meant they weren’t ready for Nicola’s chemo at 11 am Wednesday. Come in at 2:30 they said, have a few laughs, let’s party like it’s 1999. After sitting around for 45 mins (which gave us to opportunity to study their patients library of novels (see previous post re: Tarby on Golf)), we were told to come back at 3:45 and eventually got treated at 4:45pm! Phew. We were finished by 5:30pm. That side of things went smoothly. The amount of liquid that goes into Nic’s body raises an eyebrow. I’ve attached an image found via Google for reference. There are three of those red ones, plus four clear ones – that enough for you?. Post this second dose Nic seems ok so far but it’ll be very different over the weekend. Thanks to Anne and Catherine for helping to manage the brood. I’ll post some pictures of our book finds soon. NB: I spotted Matt’s brother yesterday. He greatly resembles Matt but looks slightly more intelligent.
